Beckett's Unnatural Fear

By

Natalie Elizabeth

Castle groaned as he heard his phone ringing. He had barely been asleep for a few minutes. At least that was the way it felt. Reaching for his phone, he saw the smiling face of Detective Beckett staring back up at him. He sighed. Well, if he was going to answer his phone at 1 a.m. for anyone, it would be her.

"Good morning, Detective. Although, I'd like to maintain that it's still night time because it's still dark out."

"Castle, I need you."

Castle bolted up in bed. She needed him, and he needed her in the worst way. However, it was 1 a.m. and he needed to get the facts right first.

"Excuse me?"

"I need you to come over right now."

Fear suddenly ripped through him. This wasn't a late-night tryst; this was a call for help. Dammit.

"Beckett, are you okay?"

"I'm okay. I just need you to come over here quickly."

Castle got off his bed and ran into his closet to grab his shoes.

"Is someone there?"

"Ummm…"

"Beckett, are you being held hostage? If you are, call me by my middle name."

"Castle! If I were being held hostage, would I be calling you?"

Castle paused as he put on his shoe. Well, probably not. Her phone would have more than likely been taken off of her. If she did manage to keep it, then a text message would have been the safer, quicker option. Or if she did call someone, it was likely to be 911.

"Okay, so what's wrong?" Castle left his room and quickly set about finding his wallet and keys.

"I just need you to get here as soon as you can."

Castle nodded as he spied his coat he had removed only two hours earlier. He knew he had left everything in his coat in his haste to get to bed. He snatched it up and put it on.

"Okay I'm leaving now. Are you okay though?"

"Yes, I am, sort of. I just need you to hurry," she insisted.

"Okay, okay. Calm down. I'm on my way."

"When you get here, you're going to need to get my spare key."

Castle frowned as he made his way onto the street and flagged down a taxi.

"Why? Are you hurt?"

"I'll hurt you if you don't shut up and listen. When you get here you need to get my spare key. What you have to do is slide your fingers under my door and feel for a bit of tape"

"Really, Beckett. Hiding your spare key under your door isn't exactly the safest place."

"Castle," she warned. "The tape is on the left side. There isn't a big gap under the door so you have to be careful. Peel the tape off and there is a key stuck to it. Take the key to my mailbox and unlock it. There's another key taped to the roof of the box. That's the key to my door."

"Wow, now that actually is pretty cool."

"Hurry, will you?"

"I'm in a taxi; I'll be there as soon as I can," he told her, mentally willing the taxi to go faster.

"Thank you."

Castle was now panicking. If she was saying thank you, then they were in big trouble.

Castle opened the door and entered Beckett's apartment. It had taken him awhile to peel the tape from under the door—damn his masculine fingers.

"Beckett, where are you?"

"In the bathroom."

Castle stopped suddenly. Was she serious? Castle walked through her apartment wondering if it was some practical joke. When he saw Beckett standing in her tub with a towel wrapped around her, he froze. Memories of the last time he had seen her in the tub filled his brain. Her apartment wasn't on fire this time, but there was definitely some heat.

"Castle, I am so glad to see you."

Castle frowned. Okay, something definitely had to be wrong.

"Beckett, are you okay?"

She was shivering slightly and he could see goose bumps on her skin. He took a few steps towards her.

"Castle, stop."

Castle did as he was told. He looked around frantically. Was there a hidden bomb underneath the floor?

He then saw Beckett point to something on the floor that made him scream and jump back.

"Is that spider like the love child of Godzilla and King Kong?"

"I don't know and I don't care. Just kill it," she whined.

"Kill it?" Castle questioned. "Is that why you called me over here?"

"Yes. Now will you hurry up? I am freezing and I've been trapped in my tub for over an hour."

Castle frowned. "Why didn't you just turn more hot water on?"

He watched as Beckett closed her eyes and winced as if the thought never occurred to her.

"Will you just kill the spider already?"

Castle took a few steps inside the bathroom. The spider was situated half-way between the tub and the doorway effectively holding Beckett hostage. He was pretty sure the spider was looking directly at Beckett. He balanced on one foot as he took one shoe off and then the other. If he could sneak up on the spider, he would have this takedown in the bag.

"Why are you taking your shoes off?"

"You want me to kill it or not?"

"I just don't know why you just don't step on it."

Castle looked at her as if she were crazy. "Umm, because if I miss, the spider could run up my leg."

Castle crouched down behind the spider raised his arms up.

"If you miss, the spider will crawl up your arm."

Castle looked up at Beckett in alarm.

"Castle, watch out"

Castle turned his gaze back to the spider, which had turned and was now charging towards him. He screamed and out of reflex threw his arms up. His shoes went flying as Castle tried to move away from Godzilla. Castle moved to the left quickly, but the spider kept coming for him. He was now trapped in the bathroom too. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why didn't he just back up? The truth was he didn't want to leave Beckett. If he had drawn the spider away from the bathroom Beckett could have escaped. She could have gone and got her gun. That was the only thing that could kill the beast that was sizing him up for its next meal.

Castle plastered himself against Beckett's basin and thought about his options. The spider was in front of him, blocking the exit to the right. Beckett stood in the tub, still shivering to the left of him. He didn't know what to do.

When the spider started galloping towards him, he made the decision and jumped into the tub with Beckett.

"Where did that thing come from? Why didn't you shoot it?" he asked the tub's other occupant.

"My gun is in my room. Where is the spider?"

Castle's eyes widened as he looked but couldn't see the dirt bag. Craning his head over the edge of the tub, he saw the spider starting to climb one of the tub's legs. Did this thing never quit?

"He's coming after us," he yelled, backing away.

"Quick, the doorway is free."

Castle watched as Beckett tried to lift her leg over the tub but her towel was constricting her. Being the gentleman that he was, he moved over as far away from the spider as he could before quickly vaulting over the edge of the tub.

"Hold on," he told her as he wrapped one arm around her waist, the other under her legs.

"Castle!" Beckett screamed as she felt her feet being swept out from under her. Within seconds she was being jostled as Castle ran from the bathroom emitting a war cry.

Castle opened the door and let Beckett into his loft.

"Thank you for letting me stay here tonight."

"Are you kidding me? There was no way I was letting you stay at your place with that mutant on the loose," Castle told her, shivering at the thought of the big, hairy spider.

"I'm sorry about your shoes."

Castle looked down at the ill-fitting, pink flip-flops. After they had escaped from the spider's clutches, the freak of nature had gone MIA. Neither had wanted to check his shoes to see if the spider had made them his new home, so they simply left them there. As quickly as possible, Beckett had thrown a few things in her bag, loaned Castle the shoes, and got the hell out of there. On the taxi ride over, they had discussed going back tomorrow with one of those insect bomb thingies. Calling Esposito was a strong possibility too.

"Do you want to take a shower? Standing in that cold tub for an hour has probably chilled you to the bone."

Beckett looked to the second floor of Castle's loft where the spare room and shower was located. As much as she wanted to, she shook her head.

"No. The noise might wake Alexis and Martha."

"Well then use my shower," he offered.

Beckett bit her lip. It was so very tempting.

"Come on," Castle ushered her to follow him.

She had only been sitting in the tub reading for a few minutes when she had spotted the spider. Normally she sat and read or simply relaxed until the water went cold, then set about actually bathing. So technically she hadn't washed the days grime off of her body; she just sat in her own filth. Beckett followed Castle into his room.

"Are you sure you don't mind?"

"No, but I'm beat. As you can see, I was sleeping when you rang." Castle opened up his coat and revealed his pyjamas underneath. "Take as long as you want in the shower, but I'm going to get some sleep. You know where the spare room is. It's all set up. Do you mind?"

Beckett shook her head. "No. You go to sleep, Castle. Thanks for your help tonight. I appreciate it."

Castle nodded. "Sure. You can always count on me."

Beckett gulped. Castle was right; she could always count on him. No matter what, he had stood by her. He even stood with her in the tub after he'd gotten scared by that hideous spider. Beckett turned and made her way into his bathroom.

"Hey, Beckett."

She stopped and turned to face him.

"I didn't know you were scared of spiders. When that big creepy one was crawling over me in that pet store, you just laughed."

Beckett shrugged at him. "Well yeah, but it was crawling over you. Besides, I had my gun and I wasn't naked. You saw that thing, Castle. I would have to be crazy not to be scared of it."

Castle nodded. "Well thanks for calling me. I mean, I know I probably wasn't your first choice, but I appreciate it."

Beckett bit her lip. "Actually you were."

Castle frowned.

"My first choice," she told him when he remained silent. "You're right. I can always count on you, which is why I called."

She watched as a smile tweaked to his lips.

"Besides, I figured you've already seen me naked in the tub."

Castle let out a chuckle and nodded his head.

"Well, I better let you shower; it's late. Feel free to use any of my products. They're probably just as feminine as your own."

Castle shut the door and Beckett walked to it, her hand reaching out to the lock. She hesitated then pulled her hand back without locking the door. There was no need; she trusted him. She never knew when she might need his help again.

Beckett quickly turned the hot water on in Castle's shower and jumped in, once she was undressed. She was tired but she needed to get clean. She didn't hesitate to use his products even though they weren't as girly as he had implied. Expensive looking, yes; girly, no. She stayed in there only long enough to warm up and get clean. Opening the shower door, she quickly surveyed the area, just double-checking that the spider hadn't hitchhiked his way there. Seeing the coast was clear, she exited the shower and quickly got dressed, shaking her clothes before putting them on. Grabbing her bag, Beckett exited the bathroom and tiptoed into Castle's room. She smiled when she saw him sleeping on his side, hugging his pillow slightly.

He had come to her rescue tonight—jumped in a cab wearing his pyjamas and arrived there far quicker than she imagined he would. He had gallantly approached the spider and put his own life at risk. Then he'd put her life before his own by stepping out of the tub first and carrying her away.

Beckett couldn't help herself; she reached out a hand and stroked the hair off his forehead. To look at him now, you wouldn't guess how brave he had been earlier. She leaned down and placed a soft gentle kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you for saving me."

She quickly exited the room and closed the door behind her.

Castle's eyes flashed open and he reached a hand to his cheek. Beckett had kissed him. She had been grateful for his act of heroism. Was it wrong to be grateful for a spider and having the urge to kiss it. Well, not actually kiss it. That thing was hideous, but still, it had brought Beckett to his home. She had just been in his shower.

Naked!

Castle felt a tingle on the back of his neck and he quickly swatted at it. He rolled over on his bed and examined the sheets. He lifted the pillows and stripped the covers back on the bed. No spiders. Good. He didn't want Beckett to come and rescue him.

The end

Ok so this was just a bit of fun. I wanted Castle to rescue Beckett over something so silly.

Look out for a more romantic fluffier companion piece coming soon called Castle's Unnatural Fear. Coming soon to a computer near you.

Oh and please send me some lovely reviews. I am about to embark on a journey to stay with another Castle fan for 12 days in the USA. So excited ahhhhhh. However its a long plane ride, so ill be reading lots of fanfics on the plane thanks to an ap called Pocket and writing some too. I also have long stopovers and want to use up as much free internet at the airports as possible. So leave reviews for me to read please so the time goes quick

Thanks